Mary, Rocky & Minnie
 
In response to your post of Dec 30th.  Some time ago we received a rescue
who was very obese.  Sadly this ferret passed away due to complications
involving a ruptured tumor on his liver.  During his initial vet check I
discussed a weight loss program with our shelter vet.  I'd like to share
with you his advice.
 
I was told that a weight reduction program should be carried out slowly
over an extended period of time and that the way to do this was to
gradually reduce the fat content of the food.  It was explained this way:
If you currently feed your ferret a kitten formula dry food then start
adding the adult formula of the same brand.  Slowly wean out the kitten
food.  He suggested this process should last as long as a small bag of the
adult food.  Next purchase a small bag of diet food and repeat the process
to wean him of the adult food.  He stressed that it should be done slowly
and could take up to a year.
 
Having other ferrets sharing the cage and food bowl will be a challenge,
however it sounds as though Minnie is over a year old and so sharing, at
least in the beginning, shouldn't cause any problems.
 
While going through the process of reducing the fat content you might
consider using two smaller food bowls in the cage and possibly feeding them
several times each day rather than keeping a constant supply of food in the
cage so that by the time you're down to the diet food they might be used to
eating out of separate bowls.  I've never tried this so I don't know if it
will actually work, but its at least worth trying.
 
I hope Rocky is successful in losing his extra weight.
 
Barb Gustafson (aka Boots)
Alberta Ferret Society
 
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[Posted in FML issue 2543]